Baseball Game Preview: Delta Panthers vs. Gunnison Cowboys

Delta is 9-1 against Gunnison since April of 2018 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Saturday. The Panthers will challenge the Cowboys at 11:00 a.m. Delta knows how to get runs on the board -- the team has finished with ten runs or more in their past six games -- so hopefully Gunnison likes a good challenge.

Delta's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They blew past Aspen 15-0. The result was nothing new for the Panthers, who have now won nine contests by six runs or more so far this season.

Ripp Lockhart was a major factor no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits over four innings pitched. Lockhart was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI. That's the most doubles he has posted since back in March.

Davion Lopez

Runs (Career)

04/15/25 vs Aspen	4
04/11/25 vs Roaring Fork	2
04/11/25 vs Roaring Fork	2
03/15/25 @ Resurrection Christian	2
04/15/25 vs Aspen	1

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Davion Lopez, who scored four runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Those four runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Rylan Cryer, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three RBI and one double.

Delta always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .588. They are a perfect 7-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.

Meanwhile, Gunnison fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Basalt on Saturday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Longhorns by a score of 15-14. It was the first time this season that the Cowboys let down their fans at home.

Delta is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last ten matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-5 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.5 runs over those games. As for Gunnison, they now have a losing record of 6-7.

Delta took their win against Gunnison when the teams last played back in April of 2024 by a conclusive 11-2 score. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Cowboys have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.